Insulating material



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= INSULATING MATERIAL Filed Dec. 4, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l ii.

'INVENTOR. Ewnh/ R. Z eslie A TTORNEYS Feb. 15, 1938. R, LESLIE 2,108,682

INSULATING MATERIAL Filed Dec. 4, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 e M R m w L A 1 B a L m W" P w WWW? W1 3% w 7 viii!!!- ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 15, 1938 arcacaa saccharine Maura-wrap I iiranh R. mite, St. Pauli, "Minna Application December a, rear, titties i3 @aaiidith (6i.

ture, the insulating properties' of'the substance are materially lessened.

It has been found by experiment, and by the 15 tual opening of old walls wherein such substances have been employed, that the alternate wetting and drying out of such material within the walls causes it to sag and drop. Although originally the insulating substance may have been applied to the full height of the walls, when subjected to this action for a few years, the substance has been found to have settled or dropped a material distance from the top of the framed opening in which it was originally mounted. Sometimes the sagging has been so pronounced as to leave a materially large, entirely uninsulated space at the upper end of each of the framed openings in which the substance was originally mounted.

Various expedients have been employed to cover batts or blocks of such insulating material, such as by enfolding them in water proofed paper envelopes, but such expedients are not only quite expensive, but are not entirely satisfactory for general use, since it has been difficult to complete- 35 1y seal' such envelopes, particularly the ends thereof, and the individually wrapped units them selves have a tendency to sag and pack in the walls.

The condensation referred to above is particularly prevalent in cold climates where the neces-.

sity for effective insulation is greatest. This condensation is largely caused in cold weather by variations in temperature and humidity in the walls which can best be illustrated by a specific example. Let us assume that during a warm period of weather the temperature outdoors is 38 l t, dew point 36 F., and that the following day the temperature drops down to 10 F., dew point 6 F. During the first day water vapor, which is 50 a gas, will enter the wall space in which the insulation is mounted, providing this wall space is not hermetically sealed, and will permeate the cells of the insulating material. If the fall in temperature is somewhat rapid, the water vapor in the enclosed wall space and in the cells of the insulating material wiii not readily be dissipated as is case in the open air, with the come cue-nee that the air in the enclosure soon falis below its dew point. its the temperature within the enclosed wall space continues to fall the moisture therein will precipitate out in the form of droplets, which collect on the fibers of the insu lating material. As the temperature passes below freezing, these droplets freeze and form ice and frost particles. This action is extremely pronounced in a building having humidifying equip-= ment.- That this action takes place has been actually demonstrated by opening walls in which various types of fibrous insulating materials have been mounted. Repetition of this process finally causes the insulation to become soggy, with a consequent loss of insulative properties, and where the insulation is mounted in a vertical position,

as in the walls of a building, the additional weight of the water in the mass causes the insulation to settle in its chamber, leaving the top part of the chamber completely without insulation.

An object of the present invention is to make an improved heat insulating element.

Another object of the invention is to coat an 'element of vapor permeable insulating material batt of vapor permeable insulating material having either mineral or organic fibrous structure, an outer surface of said element being coated with a viscous rubber or similar solution having a vaporizing solvent, the viscosity of the solution being sufllciently high to prevent penetration of the solution beyond the outer surface portion of said element. After the element has been coated with this solution the solvent is evaporated to leave a tough, resilient coat completely sealing the portion of the element to which it has been applied and having adhesive engagement with the outer surface of the element.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is in perspective of a fragment of insulating material embodying the present invention, a portion of the outer coating being peeled back to show the construction thereof,

Figure 2 is a view, also in perspective, a portion of a wall frame having an insulating element embodying the present inventlonembodied therein,

Figure 3 is a view in isometric projection showing a modified construction,

Figure 4 is a sectional view as on the line 3-4 oi Figure 3, and,

Figure 5 is a sectional view as on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a portion of insulating material l of water permeable materlal such as fibrous batt', whichls normally subject to the objections above set forth, has,

the entire outer surface coated with a solutlon of rubberor other flexible water proof material dissolved in a solvent which is capable of being evaporated to leave the material covering thebatt or block in the form oil a water proof coatlhg 5, adheslvely secured to the outer surface of the insulating element.

This solution should be of a viscosity sufilciently heavy so that the solution will not permeate materially into the insulating element, since such permeation would reduce the insulating qualities of the element to the depth of penetration of the solution and would also increase the weight and cost of the product. This material can be applied to the block either by spraying, brushing, dipping, or otherwise, as desired, the method of application being no part of the present invention. Inasmuch as there are a large number of such solutions which are well known to the art of coating materials, any of which would be suitable for use in the present invention, it is not considered necessary to specify any speciflc coating substance in detail. One'suitable substance for the purpose is a thick viscous rubber solution having a vaporizing solvent. After the application of the solution to the insulating element the solvent is evaporated in any suitable manner such as air drying.

The method of using coated insulating elements embodying the present invention is similar to the use of the present well known methods of use of untreated batts or strips. The elements may be simply inserted between the studdings or other frame members as shown in Figure 2,- the elements being of a size to fit snugly between the frame members to reduce air leakage around the elements and by frictional engagement between the rubber coating of the elements and the frame members to support the elements in position. The resilient-nature of the cover tends to hold the element in its original form and the adhesion between the cover and the filler supports the filler in position throughout the entire height 0! the unit. When used for other purposes the elements may be mounted in preformed framed chambers adapted to receive them.

The structure shown in Figure 2 comprises a sill 3, studding members 4 and, 5, with the element I enclosed in its water proof sheathing 2 mounted between the studdings in a customary manner.

Referring now to the modified structure shown in Figures 3 and 4. Fibrous insulating material 6 is enclosed in a paper envelope comprising side walls I and 8. The sheet from which the envelope wall a is made is narrower than that 7 from which the wall 1 is made. The edges of the wall 1 are folded forwardly as at 9 and then outwardly as at I0 to engage the outer edge of the sheet 8 thereby forming a flange. The two sheets are glued together throughout the length of the flange to securely bind the walls of the envelope together, a water proof adhesive being preferably used to seal this joint against the entrance of moisture. The ends of the insulating material thus formed are then poated with a rubber'or other suitable insulation as at ll, as previously described for the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2, the coating being applied to each end of the unit and extending to-the walls of the envelope and over the ends of the flanges so as to completely seal the ends of the insulating structure and adhereto the envelope walls. The viscous material in its solvent state will slightly permeate the fibrous filler material 6 so that the fibers on the ends thereof will be mrmanently bound to the sealing coating ll over the ends of the tiller material 6 and will also have a tight adhesive seal to the envelope walls 1 and 8 thereby not only elfectively sealing the ends of the envelope against the entrance of water vapor, but also providing a positive support for the insulative filler 6 to prevent the filler from sagging'dow'n in the envelope under its own weight.

It has been noted that this general type of insulation when mounted in a wall space has a sort of draft eflect due to the fact that the air contsined within the cells or spaces between the fibers of the filler is somewhat warmer than that in the air space between the outer face of the material and the sheathing or all in which it is mounted so that the warmer ai within the envelope will tend to rise and the colder outer air in the space beyond will tend to fall thereby promuting a circulation of air with its contained water vapor throughout the material in its containlng envelope.

The sealing of the ends of thefenvelope in accordance with the present invention efliectlvely prevents such action as, of course, does the completeenclosing o! the element as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is somewhat more expensive to make than that illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 inclusive but each of the embodiments comprises an insulating element which overcomes one oi! the principal faults of an otherwise excellent type of insulating material and has a distinct field in the art oi insulation.

I claim:

1. An insulating unit comprising a flexible, vapor permeable, fibrous core, a tubular, flexible, vapor proof envelope enclosing said core and leaving end portions thereof exposed, the end portions of the envelope and the core being coplanar and a coating of viscous vapor proof sealing, material over the exposed portions oi the core in embedding engagement therewith, said coating extending to the end portions of .the envelope in sealing engagement therewith whereby said core is positively supported with respect to said envelope.

2. An insulating unit comprising a flexible, vapor permeable, fibrous core, a tubular, flexible, vapor proof envelope enclosing said core and leaving end portions thereof exposed, and acoatlog of viscous vapor proof sealing material over the exposed portions of the core in embedding engagement therewith, said coating extending to the end portions of the envelope in sealing engagement' therewith whereby said core is 'positively supported with respect to said envelope.

I FRANK It. LESLIE.

Gil 

